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In a Swiss Boarding School, by Charles Hardon (Printed for Private Circulation, Paris, France, nd) 16pp., pamphlet, good condition Erotic story and erotic photos. -
Memory Lane, by Charles Hardon (np, Paris, France, nd) 16pp., pamphlet, good condition Erotic story and erotic photos. -
Warm Suggestions, (Emotion Publishing Co., London - Paris, nd) 16pp., pamphlet, good condition Erotic story and erotic photos. -
Aphrodite, a novel of ancient manners, by Pierre Louÿs, illus. Ed. Zier (Charles Carrington, 1906, first edition thus, first English translation) 5.25 x 8", 412pp, full green moroccan, gilt lettering and decoration on spine and borders, 5 raised bands, gilt edges, gilt decorations boardering pastedown, near fine condition, some cracks in the hinges. Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." "Aphrodite: mæurs antiques" (Ancient Manners) is a "libertine" story set in ancient Alexandria. Highlights include the loves of Chrysis, an orgy banquet ending in the crucifixion of a slave, the love of two young musician girls and the festivals of Aphrodite. "This Translation of Aphrodite was executed on the Printing Presses of Charles Herissey, at Evreux (France), for Mr. Charles Carrington, Paris, Bookseller et Publisher, and is the only complete English version extant." A beautiful example of this important first edition of the first translation. Very hard to find in full leather. Édouard François Zier (1856-1924) was a French illustrator and painter. -
Photo Album (ca. 1900), 81 photos, 6 themed series: Le Duel (The Duel), La Deception (The Deception), Les Armurea (The Armor), La Soubrette (The Coy Soprano), Le Coucher (Going to Bed), Le Bain (The Bath), no date, no photographer, no publisher. 7.25" x 5.5", 87pp unpaginated, no boards, signatures with rivets (no longer holding) and taped together. 81 photos are grouped into 6 "photo stories". The only other marking is on the second photo and reads "SADAG, SW" The photos are elaborately staged photo. Each series starts out with the subject(s) fully clothed, but at some point becoming partially undressed. "SADAG" is "Société Anonyme des Arts Graphiques". According to books from England and France they were a "well known Geneva firm of photo engravers". The marking on the photo could mean that the the photos were processed by a member of this organization or it was processed using the techniques developed by this organization. Le Duel (14 photos) portrays a group of ladies at a lunch or tea. They start drinking and fight breaks out resulting in a duel. The duel is, of course, performed topless. In the end the winner consoles the loser. La Deception (15 photos) portrays a woman sitting in her parlor and her table is set for a two. She reads a letter/note which upsets her then angers her. She clears away the extra table setting and starts to drink wine. The more drunk she gets the less clothes she has on. In the last photo she is passed out and there are two cherubs flying around the room. In Les Armurea (11 photos) a woman is admiring two suits of armor. She undresses and puts on one of the suits of armor. La Soubrette (15 photos, roughly translated as "The Coy Soprano") a maid is cleaning up a woman's dressing room. She decides to play the soprano. She undresses, lets her hair down, uses the brush and puts on a fancy dress. Le Coucher (16 photos, "Going to Bed") is a photo story about a woman preparing for bed. Le Bain (10 photos, "The Bath") a woman prepares for and takes a bath. -
Das Dekameron, by Giovanni Baccaccio, illustrated by F. v. Bayros. With a foreword by Hanns Heinz Ewers (Wilhelm Borngräber Verlag, Berlin., 1913) 5.25"x7.5", 612pp + 4 pages of ads, hardcover, half buckram with gilt title and decorations, very good condition. German language of Boccaccio's Decameron with 6 illustrations by Franz von Bayros. The Decameron, (subtitled Prencipe Galeotto or Prince Galehaut), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. To make their exile more pleasant each of the ten tells the others one story every day. The Decameron records the narratives of ten days -- 100 stories. Boccaccio probably conceived of The Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. These tales run the entire range of human emotion: grief, love, humor, anger, revenge. Many are based on oral folklore. Boccaccio's ten narrators thus retell already familiar stories about errant priests, rascally husbands, and mischievous wives. Variants of these stories are known in many cultures, but no one formulates them more cleverly or relates them more eloquently than does Boccaccio. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence, it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose. -
The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio, Giovanni Boccaccio, trans. Richard Aldington, illustrated by Rockwell Kent (Garden City Books, Garden City, NY, 1949 [date of illustrations]) 9 1/2" X 6 3/8", 562pp, hardbound with DJ (with some rips) protected by mylar, green boards with cream spine, great condition. This is the popular (at the time) Garden City edition. Superb art deco color illustrations throughout by Rockwell Kent (famous illustrator of Moby Dick and others). The Decameron, (subtitled Prencipe Galeotto or Prince Galehaut), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. To make their exile more pleasant each of the ten tells the others one story every day. The Decameron records the narratives of ten days -- 100 stories. Boccaccio probably conceived of The Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. These tales run the entire range of human emotion: grief, love, humor, anger, revenge. Many are based on oral folklore. Boccaccio's ten narrators thus retell already familiar stories about errant priests, rascally husbands, and mischievous wives. Variants of these stories are known in many cultures, but no one formulates them more cleverly or relates them more eloquently than does Boccaccio. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence, it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose. -
The Most Pleasant and Delectable Questions of Love, by Giovanni Boccaccio, illus. by Alexander King (Illustrated Editions Company, New York, 1931) 6.5"x9.5", 133pp, red and black boards, binding good, some yellowing to pages. "The translation of 1566 [the fourth part of Filocolo] by H. G. Put into modern English with an introduction by Thomas Bell." This book is 13 chapters of one of Boccaccio's longer works, "Il libro di Difinizioni", first translated into English by "H.G." (probably Henry Grantham) in London, 1566. In these chapters, a group of young people have gone to the country for the day. One of the young women is chosen "The Queen of Love." Each young person tells a love story and poses a question about love. The group answers; there is no right or wrong. But the final arbiter, "The Queen of Love," holds the answers. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular. Boccaccio is particularly notable for his dialogue, of which it has been said that it surpasses in verisimilitude that of virtually all of his contemporaries, since they were medieval writers and often followed formulaic models for character and plot. Alexander King (1899–1965), born Alexander Koenig in Vienna, was a bestselling humorist, memoirist and media personality of the early television era, based in the United States. In his late fifties, after becoming a frequent guest on the a Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar, King emerged as an incongruous presence in the realm of national celebrity: an aging, irascible raconteur, with elegant mannerisms and trademark bow-tie, who spoke frankly and disarmingly about his bohemian lifestyle, multiple marriages, and years-long struggle with drug addiction. His checkered past led TIME magazine to describe him as "an ex-illustrator, ex-cartoonist, ex-adman, ex-editor, ex-playwright, ex-dope addict. For a quarter-century he was an ex-painter, and by his own bizarre account qualifies as an ex-midwife. He is also an ex-husband to three wives and an ex-Viennese of sufficient age (60) to remember muttonchopped Emperor Franz Joseph. When doctors told him a few years ago that he might soon be an ex-patient (two strokes, serious kidney disease, peptic ulcer, high blood pressure), he sat down to tell gay stories of the life of all these earlier Kings." -
The Most Pleasant and Delectable Questions of Love, by Giovanni Boccaccio, illus. by Alexander King (Three Sirens Press, [copyright, Illustrated Editions Company, New York] 1931) 6.5"x9.5", 133pp, gilt top-edge other edges deckled, tan and maroon boards, binding good, some soiling and edges bumped. "The translation of 1566 [the fourth part of Filocolo] by H. G. Put into modern English with an introduction by Thomas Bell." This book is 13 chapters of one of Boccaccio's longer works, "Il libro di Difinizioni", first translated into English by "H.G." (probably Henry Grantham) in London, 1566. In these chapters, a group of young people have gone to the country for the day. One of the young women is chosen "The Queen of Love." Each young person tells a love story and poses a question about love. The group answers; there is no right or wrong. But the final arbiter, "The Queen of Love," holds the answers. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular. Boccaccio is particularly notable for his dialogue, of which it has been said that it surpasses in verisimilitude that of virtually all of his contemporaries, since they were medieval writers and often followed formulaic models for character and plot. Alexander King (1899–1965), born Alexander Koenig in Vienna, was a bestselling humorist, memoirist and media personality of the early television era, based in the United States. In his late fifties, after becoming a frequent guest on the a Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar, King emerged as an incongruous presence in the realm of national celebrity: an aging, irascible raconteur, with elegant mannerisms and trademark bow-tie, who spoke frankly and disarmingly about his bohemian lifestyle, multiple marriages, and years-long struggle with drug addiction. His checkered past led TIME magazine to describe him as "an ex-illustrator, ex-cartoonist, ex-adman, ex-editor, ex-playwright, ex-dope addict. For a quarter-century he was an ex-painter, and by his own bizarre account qualifies as an ex-midwife. He is also an ex-husband to three wives and an ex-Viennese of sufficient age (60) to remember muttonchopped Emperor Franz Joseph. When doctors told him a few years ago that he might soon be an ex-patient (two strokes, serious kidney disease, peptic ulcer, high blood pressure), he sat down to tell gay stories of the life of all these earlier Kings." -
Novellen und Cymbalum Mundi: Die neuen Schwänke und lustigen Unterhaltungen gefolgt von der Weltbimmel (VOL 2 only), by Bonaventure Des Periers. "For the first time translated from French and introduced by Hanns Floerke with 10 illustrations by Franz von Bayros" (Georg Müller, München und Leipzig 1910) 5.25"x7", 404pp, vol 2 of 2, top edge gilt, other edges deckled, 3/4 vellum on green boards, 5 illustrations by Bayros tipped in, ribbon present but detached, good+ condition. German translation of Des Periers short stories and Cymbalum Mundi, Four Very Ancient Joyous and Facetious Dialogues. Bonaventure des Périers (c. 1500 – 1544) was a French storyteller and humanist who attained notoriety as a freethinker. Margaret of Angoulême, queen of Navarre, made him her valet de chambre in 1536. He acted as her secretary and transcribed her Heptaméron; some maintain that he in fact wrote the work. The free discussions permitted at Margaret’s court encouraged a license of thought as displeasing to the Calvinists as to the Roman Catholics; it became skepticism in Des Périers’s Cymbalum Mundi, a brilliant and violent attack upon Christianity. The allegorical form of its four dialogues in imitation of the Greek rhetorician Lucian did not conceal its real meaning. It was suppressed (c. 1538), but it was reprinted in Paris in the same year. His book made many bitter enemies for Des Périers, who prudently left Paris and settled at Lyon. Tradition has it that he killed himself in 1544, but this is questionable. Franz von Bayros (1866–1924) was an Austrian commercial artist, illustrator, and painter, best known for his controversial Tales at the Dressing Table portfolio, a book considered so dangerous to the morality of the time that Von Bayros was arrested and forced into exile. He was obliged to move from one European capital to another as each outrageous new work was banned by the authorities. -
Tableau de l’amour conjugal, ou l'Histoire complète de la génération de l’homme, Nicolas Venette (Claude Joly, Cologne 1712) 3.75"x6", 22+384pp +4, full calf, 5 raised bands, gilt titles and decorations on spine, front boards loose, good condition for age. Illustrated throughout. Nicolas Venette (1633–1698) was a physician, sexologist and French writer. Born in La Rochelle, he studied medicine at Bordeaux where he received his doctorate in 1656. He then went to Paris where he studied under Guy Patin and Pierre Petit, before travelling to Spain, Portugal and Italy. He then returned to La Rochelle, where he became Regius Professor of Anatomy and Surgery in 1668. First published in Amsterdam in 1686 as Tableau de l'amour humain considéré dans l'état du mariage (Table of human love considered in the state of marriage) under the pseudonym Salocini Venetian (anagram of Nicolas Venette), this book, more properly titled Table of conjugal love, or the complete history of the generation of man, is considered to be the first treatise on sexology in West. It proved to be a bestseller and was translated into English, Spanish, German and Dutch. There were 33 editions published sporadically until 1903. This is a rare earlier version, published in 1712. The author discusses four sub-topics with respect to sex: anatomy, reproduction, desire, and impotence/infertility. For each topic, he reviews ancient and medieval authors, adding his own observations or those of later authors, and comments where common sense prevails. The resulting composition has an ambiguous mixture of seriousness and light-heartedness bordering upon erotic literature. -
Curious Bypaths of History: Being Medico-Historical Studies and Observations, by Dr. [Augustin] Cabanès, frontispiece by Daniel Vierge engraved on copper by F. Massé (Librairie Des Bibliophiles, Charles Carrington, Éditeur, Paris 1898, #238/500) 7"x10", xx+367pp, black cloth with gilt titles on cover and spine (spine titles faded), front boards loose but holding, marbled endpapers, printed on "Van Gelder's vellum paper", gilt top edge, other edges deckled. Charles Carrington published a series of 3 books looking into the private lives of the French aristocracy titled, "Pathological studies of the past". The books are Secret Cabinet of History Peeped into By a Doctor (1897), Curious Bypaths of History: Being Medico-Historical Studies and Observations (1898), Flagellation in France from a medical and historical standpoint (1898). The first two and possibly the third were written by Dr. Augustin Cabanès (1862-1928), a French doctor, historian and author. Contents of this book, Curious Bypaths of History, include: The Teeth of Louis Xi, The Clandestine Accouchements of Mdlle De La Valliere (Louise de La Vallière was a mistress of Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667.), Illustrious Remains And Anatomical Relics. — the Skeleton of Mme De Maintenon And the Skull of Mme De Sevigne, The Infirmities of Sophie Arnould (a very popular French operatic soprano), Was Dr. Guillotin the Inventor Or the God-Father, of the Guillotine?, the Real Charlotte Corday. — Her Personal Appearance (Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont was a figure of the French Revolution. In 1793, she was executed by guillotine for the assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, who was in part responsible for the more radical course the Revolution had taken through his role as a politician and journalist.), The Superstitions of Napoleon I, A Romance With Three Actors: Alfred De Musset, George Sand, And Doctor Pagello. -
Étude sur La Flagellation a travers le monde aux points de vue Historique, Medical, Religieux, Domestique et Conjugal | avec un exposé documentaire de la flagellation dans Les écoles anglaises et les prisons militaires, Deuxiéme Édition, Augmentée [Study of the Flagellation throughout the world from the historical, medical, religious, domestic and marital points of view | with a documentary presentation of flogging in English Schools and Military Prisons, Second Edition, Augmented], by Jean de Villiot [pseud. most likely of Charles Carrington, Hugues Rebell and Hector France],illust. by René Lelong, (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1901, "Second Edition Augmented", printed by Achevé d'imprimer le 29 septembre 1900 par Em. Pivoteau. Imprimeur à Saint-Amand-Mont-Rond (Cher)) 5.5"x8.5", xxiv+646pp, quarter-bound in red morocco over red boards, 4 raised bands, gilt titles and decorations on spine, marbled paste-downs, all edges gilt, ribbon intact, binding frayed a bit at bottom, some rubbing and stains, otherwise very good condition for age, frontispiece and 20 B&W illustrations by René Lelong tipped in with titled tissue guards. This book is the compilation and expansion of a few other books previously published by Charles Carrington including the original Étude sur La Flagellation a travers le monde published in 1898. It represents a more complete representation of those writings beautifully bound into one book, covering studies on flogging through the centuries, flogging in England, flogging in the history of France (the cases of Madame Du Barry, the Marquise de Rosen.), the flogging from the medical point of view where one learns its healing properties, flogging in literature or the art of using it for pleasure, the discipline to school and domestic and spousal corrections, and "in our current society". Jean de Villiot is a pseudonym frequently used by Carrington and the various authors he relied upon, especially for works that involved flagellation. The illustrator, René Lelong was a third class medalist at the Salon des artistes français of 1895 which he became a member from 1898. He has produced advertising posters and illustrated numerous books and texts. He was a professor at the Julian Academy from 1879 to 1891. -
Casanova's Memoirs, by Casanova, Ed. Joseph Monét, illus. Vincente Minnilli (Willey Book Company, New York, 1946) 6.25"x9.25", 290pp, mylar protected DJ with some rips and tears over red boards with gilt lettering, boards loose but holding Giovanni Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) was an ecclesiastic, writer, soldier, spy, and diplomatist, chiefly remembered as the prince of Italian adventurers and as the man who made the name Casanova synonymous with "libertine." His autobiography, which perhaps exaggerates some of his escapades, is a splendid description of 18th-century society in the capitals of Europe. As far as I can tell this is the only illustration work done by Vincente Minnelli [obscure at the time but later famous director and husband of Judy Garland]. It was done soon after he moved to New York from Chicago and before he landed a steady job at Radio City Music Hall. In his autobiography he described the work as "in the Aubrey Beardsley style". -
The Sofa, a moral tale by Crébillon fils, trans. Bonamy Dobrée, illus. Robert Bonfils (The Folio Society, St. James's, London, 1951) 6.75"x9.25", v+256, red boards with silver gilt decorations on spine, spine only slightly sunned, slipcase The Sofa: A Moral Tale (French: Le Sopha, conte moral) is a 1742 libertine novel by Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (Crebillon fils). It was first translated into English in the spring of 1742. The story concerns a young courtier, Amanzéï, whose soul in a previous life was condemned by Brahma to inhabit a series of sofas, and not to be reincarnated in a human body until two virgin lovers had consummated their passion for him. The novel is structured as a frame story in an oriental setting, explicitly evocative of the Arabian Nights, in which Amanzéï recounts the adventures of seven couples, which he witnessed in his sofa form, to the bored sultan Shah Baham (grandson of Shehryār and Scheherazade). The longest episode, that of Zulica, takes up nine chapters; the final episode concerns the teenage Zéïnis et Phéléas. Amanzéï, witnessing their innocent pleasure, is edified and freed through the experience of virtuous love. Many of the characters in the novel are satirical portraits of influential and powerful Parisians of Crébillon’s time; the author takes the opportunity to ridicule hypocrisy in its different forms (worldly respectability, virtue, religious devotion). Although the book was published anonymously and with a false imprint, Crébillon was discovered to be the author and was exiled to a distance of thirty leagues from Paris on April 7, 1742. He was able to return on July 22, after claiming that the work had been commissioned by Frederick II of Prussia and that it had been published against his will. Robert Bonfils started his illustration career in Chicago in the mid fifties, doing various commercial art assignments such as advertisements, lunch box decorations, catalog illustrations, magazine covers, interior story illustrations, record jacket covers, and book covers. He is best known for his covers for erotic, pulp fiction paperbacks. -
Le Sopha, conte moral by Crébillon fils, illus. Hanriot (Ch. Gilliet, Bruxelles, 1881, #380/550, Imprimerie Clerbaut & Cie.) 5"x7.5", 342pp, 3/4 morocco over marbled boards, 5 raised bands, gilt titles on spine (title worn), marbled endpapers, top-edge gilt, other edges deckled, printed on hand-laid "papier de Hollande", green ribbon intact, frontispiece with tissue guard and 2 small engravings by Hanriot, beautifully bound copy in very good+ condition with delicate engravings Le Sopha, conte moral is a 1742 libertine novel by Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (Crebillon fils). It was first translated into English in the spring of 1742. The story concerns a young courtier, Amanzéï, whose soul in a previous life was condemned by Brahma to inhabit a series of sofas, and not to be reincarnated in a human body until two virgin lovers had consummated their passion for him. The novel is structured as a frame story in an oriental setting, explicitly evocative of the Arabian Nights, in which Amanzéï recounts the adventures of seven couples, which he witnessed in his sofa form, to the bored sultan Shah Baham (grandson of Shehryār and Scheherazade). The longest episode, that of Zulica, takes up nine chapters; the final episode concerns the teenage Zéïnis et Phéléas. Amanzéï, witnessing their innocent pleasure, is edified and freed through the experience of virtuous love. Many of the characters in the novel are satirical portraits of influential and powerful Parisians of Crébillon’s time; the author takes the opportunity to ridicule hypocrisy in its different forms (worldly respectability, virtue, religious devotion). Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (1707-1777) was a French novelist. He was called "Crébillon fils" to distinguish him from his father, a famous tragedian, Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon. The publication of Tanzaï et Neadarne, histoire japonaise (1734), which contained thinly veiled attacks on the Papal bull Unigenitus, the cardinal de Rohan and others, landed him briefly in the prison at Vincennes. Although Le Sopha was published anonymously and with a false imprint, Crébillon was discovered to be the author and was exiled to a distance of thirty leagues from Paris on April 7, 1742. He was able to return on July 22, after claiming that the work had been commissioned by Frederick II of Prussia and that it had been published against his will. Jules-Armand Hanriot (1853-1930) was a French painter, engraver and illustrator. -
Sextravaganza, by M. de Crebillon le Fils, With and Introduction by Escar Levine, Illustrator unknown (Privately Printed [The Robin Hood House], New York 1932, one of 1111) 6.25"x9.5", 192pp, decorated boards, vellum spine with silver lettering, some spots and bumps but generally a good copy of this edition. Originally titled La Nuit et le moment ou les matines de Cythère [The night and the moment, or the mornings of Cythere], this is Robin Hood House's famous US "private" publication from the 30's and for a long time the only english translation available in the states. Written as a dialog, in the course of one night a man and a woman, each of whom is in love with somebody else, gradually warm up to each other until they forget past pleasures in present passions . Satire, irony, word-play and scandal abound. This edition states "only eleven hundred eleven copies have been issued for collectors of curiosa & sexualia". Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (1707-1777) was a French novelist. He was called "Crébillon fils" to distinguish him from his father, a famous tragedian, Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon. The publication of Tanzaï et Neadarne, histoire japonaise (1734), which contained thinly veiled attacks on the Papal bull Unigenitus, the cardinal de Rohan and others, landed him briefly in the prison at Vincennes. Publication of Le Sopha, conte moral, an erotic political satire, in 1742 forced him into exile from Paris for several months. -
The Amours of the Chevalier de Faublas | by John Baptiste Louvet de Courvray | founded on historical facts, interspersed with most remarkable narratives | a literal unexpurgated translation from the Paris edition of 1821, etchings by Louis Monzies from drawings of Paul Avril (Privately Printed for Société des Bibliophiles [possibly Charles Carrington], London 1898, one of 100, first English translation edition) 5.75"x8.25", 4 volumes, ix+330pp, 367pp, 416pp, 430pp, white spine over green boards, gilt title ("Classics Facetius | Faublas") and decorations on spine, top edge gilt, others deckled, many pages unopened, spine slightly soiled, slight sunning, otherwise in excellent condition for age, numerous illustrations with titled tissue guards. This is the first English translation of this work which, when published was a "sensation" all over Europe. It appears to be published by Charles Carrington, who occasionally used the Société des Bibliophiles imprint and often used illustrations from Paul Avril. Édouard-Henri Avril (1849-1928) used the pseudonym "Paul Avril" for his erotic work. He was a French painter and commercial artist. His career saw collaboration with influential people like Octave Uzanne, Henry Spencer Ashbee and Friedrich Karl Forberg. He is one of the most celebrated erotic artists of his age. Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War. Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai (1760 - 1797) was born in Paris as the son of a stationer, he became a bookseller's clerk, and first attracted attention with the first part of his novel "Les Amours du chevalier de Faublas" (5 parts) in 1787; it was followed in 1788 by "Six semaines de la vie du chevalier de Faublas" (8 parts) and in 1790 by "La Fin des amours du chevalier de Faublas" (6 parts). The heroine, Lodoiska, was modeled on the wife of a jeweler in the Palais Royal, with whom he had an affair. She divorced her husband in 1792 and married Louvet in 1793. This is considered a so-called "libertine" novel. It dwells mainly on the sexual escapades of its hero, a sort of amiable young libertine, and on the corrupted morals of eighteenth-century France. At the start of this novel the young Chevalier de Faublas attends a party dressed as a woman and is knowingly seduced by the lady of the house ('. I receive with equal astonishment and pleasure a charming lesson, which I repeated more than once .') Oxford Comp. to French Literature says it is "typical of many frivolous, licentious novels of its time, and still mentioned. Faublas, the amiable hero, is the victim of his own charms. His amorous adventures, recounted with a certain lively force, begin with his entry into society at the age of sixteen. He loves several women by the way and three in particular. A jealous husband and a despairing suicide reduce the three to one. The novel ends on a moral note: Faublas , who had happened to settle down with his remaining love, is haunted by the avenging phantoms of the other two and goes mad." -
The Most Delectable Nights of Straparola of Caravaggio, the first complete translation into english of "Le tredici piacevolissime notte, de Mesier Giovanni Francesco Straparola", with an introduction and notes, in two volumes, illust. by Léon Lebègue and Adolph Lambrecht (Charles Carrington, "Publisher of Artistic, Folklore and Historical Works", Paris, 1906, #152/1000, [first english translation, first edition] "Printed in Holland at the Printing Works of G. J. Thieme, Nymeguen.") 5.75"x8.5", 2 vol. xvi+352pp, xl+420pp, top edge gilt other edges deckled, blue boards with gilt borders and gilt lettering to the spines, red and black text and decorations throughout, numerous illustrations, both vignettes within text and tipped-in full color plates with descriptive tissue guards, handsome good+ copy for age, some foxing, small tear at top of vol. 1 spine, slight sunning to boards. This is a rare, beautifully executed, 1st edition, 1st English translation, 1st printing, low number limited edition, by Charles Carrington. Giovanni Francesco "Gianfrancesco" Straparola, also known as Zoan or Zuan Francesco Straparola da Caravaggio (1485?-1558) was a writer of poetry, and collector and writer of short stories. Some time during his life, he migrated from Caravaggio to Venice where he published a collection of stories in two volumes called Le piacevoli notti (1551 and 1553) (The Pleasant Nights, first translated by W. G. Waters in 1901 as "The Facetious Nights"). The Pleasant Nights is the work for which Straparola is most noted, and which contains a total of seventy-five short stories, fables, and fairy tales. The tales, or novelle, are divided into Nights, rather than chapters, and resemble the type of narrative presentation found in Boccaccio's Decameron. This presentation is of a gathering of Italian aristocrats, men and women, who entertain themselves by singing songs, dancing, telling stories and presenting enigmas (riddles). The Pleasant Nights contains many different types of tales, including realistic novellas, stories about practical jokes, tragic and triumphant love stories, bawdy tales, and animal stories. Some sixteen of these 74 tales are fairy tales including the story of Puss-in-Boots, the story of an impoverished boy whose enchanted cat earns him wealth, marriage to a princess, and a kingdom. Among the other fairy tales in The Pleasant Nights, we find a dragon slayer tale; the tale of a prince born in the shape of a pig due to a fairy’s curse who regains his human form only after marrying three time,; the story of Biancabella or “White Beauty” a princes who undergoes many trials until finally being saved by a fairy; and the a poor girl who acquire a magic doll that poops money and helps her marry a prince. It is claimed that many of the stories within The Pleasant Nights had been taken from earlier works, specifically from Girolamo Morlini, a 15th/16th century lawyer from Naples. If taken at his word, Straparola never denied this. In the Dedication at the front of the second volume, Straparola wrote that the stories ". . . written and collected in this volume [vol. 2 only?] are none of mine, but goods which I have feloniously taken from this man and that. Of a truth I confess they are not mine, and if I said otherwise I should lie, but nevertheless I have faithfully set them down according to the manner in which they were told by the ladies, nobles, learned men and gentlemen who gathered together for recreation." -
Harold Teen, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Out of stock
Harold Teen, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Count Screwloose in "Decoyed", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Joe Palooka in "10 and Out", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Phil Fumble, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
"Killer" Burke in "Out", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Gertie Gulp presents Needlenose Noonan in "Heavy Duty", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Moon Mullins in "Treat 'em with Kindness", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Ella Cinders in "Tsk-Tsk", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Mickey Finn in "First Aid", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Smiling Jack in "A Forced Landing", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Fritzi Ritz in "Straight from the Shoulder", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled, pages loose Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Moon Mullins in "Treat 'em with Kindness", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Mae Givitt presents Pete in "No Help Needed", (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Dingle Hoofer and his Dog Aolph, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled, cover detatched Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Jiggs, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Way out West with the fucking Tiger, A Bungstopper production, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
The Frigidaire Salesman, (n.p. n.d.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
The Traveling Salesman and the Farmer's Daughter, (stated "Published by Fartgold Bros., Pokemyass, NY, 1935") 3.25" x 6", 16pp. pamphlet, stapled In the style of a "Tijuana bible" but larger and with 16 pages (instead of the traditional 8). Cover art and back cover in black and red. Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Mae West and Will Rogers in "The Sod-Buster", (np. nd.) 3.25" x 6", 16pp. pamphlet, stapled In the style of a "Tijuana bible" but larger and with 16 pages (instead of the traditional 8). Cover art and back cover in black and red. Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Dingle-Hoofer und his dog Adolph, (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Judge Puffle in "Paid", (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
The Gumps - Oh Min!, (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp. pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
That's My Pop, (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp.+2 pages describing sexual positions, pamphlet, stapled Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Little Annie Rooney, (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp., pamphlet, stapled and taped Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Hank O'Hare presents Tillie, (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp., pamphlet, stapled and taped Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Mr. Geezil, the "Shoe Cobbler", (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp., pamphlet, stapled and taped Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
The Radio Salesman, (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp., pamphlet, stapled and taped Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Ah Loves 'ya 'Deer'", (np. nd.) 4.5" x 3", 8pp., pamphlet, stapled and taped Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, bluesies, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books, and two-by-fours) were little pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. -
Gamiani, ou deux nuits d'excés par Alcide, Baron de M***, anonymous [believed to have been written by Alfred de Musset] (G. Lebaucher, Libraire-Éditeur, Montreal, Canada [likely Gaucher, Malakoff, France] nd.) 4.5"x6", 144pp, half morocco over marbled boards, title in gilt on spine, 4 raised bands, boards cracked but holding, just good condition Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess is a French erotic novel first published in 1833. Its authorship is anonymous, but it is believed to have been written by Alfred de Musset and the lesbian eponymous heroine a portrait of his lover, George Sand. It became a bestseller among nineteenth century erotic literature. Modeled after George Sand, this work gives us a young man named Alcide observing the Countess Gamiani and a young girl named Fanny, engaged in their lesbian bed. Having watched them and provoked by their abandonment, he reveals himself, joins them, and they spend the night alternately sharing their intimate histories and their bodies. The stories they tell include the rape of one in a monastery and the nearly fatal debauchment of another in a convent, as well as encounters with a number of animals, including an ape and a donkey. Elias Gaucher (publisher from 1898 until 1925(?)) was a Clandestine editor who mainly used the pseudonym G. Lebaucher, Libraire-Éditeur, Montreal (Canada), but also Maison Mystère, Imprimerie Galante, etc. This publisher published many erotic underground works in English from 1898 to about 1904 with the mentions "Printed for the Erotica Biblion Society of London and New York", he also published erotic texts in French from 1899. His printing press was actually located at 11 rue Danicourt in Malakoff, France. Gaucher left his works in deposit with booksellers-distributors [...] Most editions of Gaucher are counterfeit editions of Brancart or Hirsch, and Gaucher often republished his own works. -
Three Times a Woman, Grushenka, anonymous [possibly Val Lewton?], illus. "a young Russian residing in Paris, who unfortunately must remain anonymous" (Privately Printed, Paris [New York], 1933) 7.25"x9", 252pp, the original "french wraps" bound into hardcover, half red morocco over red boards, gilt titles and decorations on spine, 5 raised bands, gilt boarders on leather covers, top edge gilt, other edges deckled, frontispiece in color (rare), other illustrations not present, binding split at 18/19 to 30/31pp otherwise good condition, rubbing and bumping to boards Title page reads: "The Story of a Russian Serf Girl Compiled from Contemporary Documents in the Russian Police Files and Private Archives of Russian Libraries" Originally published at New York in 1933 with a false Paris imprint. Val Lewton, the supposed author, was a well known film producer, responsible for a series of good low-budget horror movies in the 1940's by such directors as Robert Wise, Mark Robson and Jacques Tourneur. The book purports to be a flaggelation story written by a Russian living in Paris and then translated to english. The story takes place c. 1728, "shortly after the death of Peter the Great". The main character is Grushenka Pavlovsk. -
Ninety-Five Limericks | A Contribution to the Folk Lore of our Time | Collected and Edited by John Falmouth (The Limerick Press, Suffern, NY, 1932) 5"x7.25", unpaginated, tan cloth boards with red lettering and decorations, some soiling on boards, interior good, previous owner added a limerick about a young man from Calcutta in the end pages. Mr. Falmouth has a 6 page forward where he discusses the phallic nature of the limerick (with diagrams). A fun little book even though the profanity is exed out. -
Aphrodite, a novel of ancient manners, by Pierre Louÿs, illus. Ed. Zier (Charles Carrington, 1906, first edition thus, first English translation) 5.25 x 7.75", xiv+412pp, rebound with plain blue boards, fine condition Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." "Aphrodite: mæurs antiques" (Ancient Manners) is a "libertine" story set in ancient Alexandria. Highlights include the loves of Chrysis, an orgy banquet ending in the crucifixion of a slave, the love of two young musician girls and the festivals of Aphrodite. "This Translation of Aphrodite was executed on the Printing Presses of Charles Herissey, at Evreux (France), for Mr. Charles Carrington, Paris, Bookseller et Publisher, and is the only complete English version extant." Édouard François Zier (1856-1924) was a French illustrator and painter. -
Aphrodite, done into English from the French of Pierre Louys, by Pierre Louÿs, illus. unknown, (Privately Printed for Subscribers Only[Mitchell S. Buck], 1913, #66/550) 6.5"x8.75", xi+258pp+Notes+Index, cream vellum spine over green boards, gilt titles on spine, good condition, some bumping and rubbing Buck's translation is easier to read than Carrington's translation a few years earlier. This was his first book, most likely, self-published and printed by Nicholas L. Brown. Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." "Aphrodite: mæurs antiques" (Ancient Manners) is a "libertine" story set in ancient Alexandria. Highlights include the loves of Chrysis, an orgy banquet ending in the crucifixion of a slave, the love of two young musician girls and the festivals of Aphrodite." Mitchell Starrett Buck (February 10, 1887 – May 12, 1959) was an American poet, translator and classical scholar. His volumes of verse and prose poetry were deeply influenced by 1890s aestheticism as well as classical Greek and Roman Literature. Buck’s writing was secondary to his work as a heating engineer, and the money he made professionally allowed him to become a noted book-collector, specializing in first editions, English literature, Greek and Latin classics. Buck’s first book was a translation of Aphrodite by the French decadent Pierre Louÿs (1870-1925). It appeared in 1913, and was “privately printed”, probably at Buck’s expense. It may have been arranged through the Philadelphia bookseller Nicholas L. Brown, who officially became a publisher in 1916, and thereafter issued most of Buck’s output. Between 1916 and 1932, Brown published small editions of poetry, belles lettres, translations, sometimes without his imprint but stating that the title has been “issued privately for subscribers” (in order to evade prosecution for dealing in obscene materials). Such classical erotica is very tame by modern standards, but in the teens and twenties such material was policed by self-appointed authorities such as John S. Sumner of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. -
Collected Works of Pierre Louys, Aphrodite, Woman and Puppet, The Songs of Billitis, The Adventures of King Pausole, The Twilight of the Nymphs, Sanguines, Psyche, Pierre Louys, Illust. by Harry G. Spanner, trans. by Mitchell S. Buck (Liveright Publishing Corporation, New York, 1932) 5.75" X 7.75", xii+742pp., black boards with gilt nude on cover, gilt and blue titles and decorations on spine, top edge inked, other edges deckled, printed on fine hand-layed paper Pierre Louys (1870 - 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection." Mitchell Starrett Buck (February 10, 1887 – May 12, 1959) was an American poet, translator and classical scholar. His volumes of verse and prose poetry were deeply influenced by 1890s aestheticism as well as classical Greek and Roman Literature. Buck’s writing was secondary to his work as a heating engineer, and the money he made professionally allowed him to become a noted book-collector, specializing in first editions, English literature, Greek and Latin classics. Buck’s first book was a translation of Aphrodite by the French decadent Pierre Louÿs (1870-1925). It appeared in 1913, and was “privately printed”, probably at Buck’s expense. It may have been arranged through the Philadelphia bookseller Nicholas L. Brown, who officially became a publisher in 1916, and thereafter issued most of Buck’s output. Between 1916 and 1932, Brown published small editions of poetry, belles lettres, translations, sometimes without his imprint but stating that the title has been “issued privately for subscribers” (in order to evade prosecution for dealing in obscene materials). Such classical erotica is very tame by modern standards, but in the teens and twenties such material was policed by self-appointed authorities such as John S. Sumner of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. -
The Songs of Bilitis, Translated from the Greek, Put into English from the French of Pierre Louys by Horace Manchester Brown, illust. James Fagan (Privately Printed for Members of the Aldus Society, London and New York, 1904, #30/971) 7.25"x10.25", 341pp., 3/4 blue leather over blue boards, gilt decorations on boards, gilt titles and gilt and color decorations on spine, marbled boards, top edge gilt, other edges deckled, frontispiece portrait of author and two original etchings by James Fagan, good+ condition for age, some rubbing on spine and bumping to corners. Early (first?) translation of Les Chansons de Bilitis, rare and beautifully bound english translation of this classic in lesbian literature. The Songs of Bilitis (Les Chansons de Bilitis) is a collection of erotic, essentially lesbian, poetry by Pierre Louÿs published in Paris in 1894. Since Louÿs claimed that he had translated the original poetry from Ancient Greek, this work is considered a pseudotranslation. The poems are in the manner of Sappho; the collection's introduction claims they were found on the walls of a tomb in Cyprus, written by a woman of Ancient Greece called Bilitis, a courtesan and contemporary of Sappho to whose life Louÿs dedicated a small section of the book. On publication, the volume deceived even the most expert of scholars. Louÿs claimed the 143 prose poems, excluding 3 epitaphs, were entirely the work of this ancient poet — a place where she poured both her most intimate thoughts and most public actions, from childhood innocence in Pamphylia to the loneliness and chagrin of her later years. Although for the most part The Songs of Bilitis is original work, many of the poems were reworked epigrams from the Palatine Anthology, and Louÿs even borrowed some verses from Sappho herself. The poems are a blend of mellow sensuality and polished style in the manner of the Parnassian school, but underneath run subtle Gallic undertones that Louÿs could never escape. To lend authenticity to the forgery, Louÿs in the index listed some poems as "untranslated"; he even craftily fabricated an entire section of his book called "The Life of Bilitis", crediting a certain fictional archaeologist Herr G. Heim ("Mr. C. Cret" in German) as the discoverer of Bilitis' tomb. And though Louÿs displayed great knowledge of Ancient Greek culture, ranging from children's games in "Tortie Tortue" to application of scents in "Perfumes", the literary fraud was eventually exposed. This did little, however, to taint their literary value in readers' eyes, and Louÿs' open and sympathetic celebration of lesbian sexuality earned him sensation and historic significance. -
Venus in Furs, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, trans. Fernanda Savage (Privately Printed For Subscirbers Only. 1921, [first english translation?] limited first edition thus, #400/1225) Venus in Furs (German: Venus im Pelz) is a novella by Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (1836-1895), an Austrian writer and journalist. It is now his best known work and because of its themes the term masochism is derived from his name, coined by the Austrian psychiatrist, Krafft-Ebing. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called Legacy of Cain. Venus in Furs was part of Love, the first volume of the series. It was published in 1870. The novel draws themes, like female dominance and sadomasochism, and character inspiration heavily from Sacher-Masoch's own life. Wanda von Dunajew, the novel's central female character, was modelled after his mistress Baroness Fanny Pistor. In December 1869 the two signed a contract making him her slave for a period of 6 months. In 1873, after the publication of Venus in Furs, Sacher-Masoch married Aurora von Rümelin who he pressured to continue the lifestyle he wrote about in his book. After 10 years they divorced. Rümelin, using the pseudonym of the books title character, "Wanda von Dunajew", wrote Meine Lebensbeichte (My Life Confession) published in 1906. It detailed Sacher-Masoch's private life and her relationship with him. During his lifetime, Sacher-Masoch was well known as a man of letters, a utopian thinker who espoused socialist and humanist ideals in his fiction and non-fiction. Most of his works remain untranslated into English. Until recently, his novel Venus in Furs was his only book commonly available in English. -
Les Œuvres Galantes et Amoureuses D'Ovide, contenant l'Art d'Aimer, le Remede d'Amour, les Épitre et les Élégies amoureuses, Nouvelle Édition (Vol 2 only of 2) (A Cythere, Aux Dépens du Loisir, 1774) 5"x8", 204pp, full calf, gilt titles and decorations to spine, 5 raised bands, marbled boards, good+ condition 2nd volume only beautifully bound, this volume contains the Art of Love, the Remedy of Love, the Letters and Elegies in Love, New Edition (Vol 2 only of 2) Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – AD 17/18), known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists. He enjoyed enormous popularity, but, in one of the mysteries of literary history, was sent by Augustus into exile in a remote province on the Black Sea, where he remained until his death. Ovid himself attributes his exile to carmen et error, "a poem and a mistake", but his discretion in discussing the causes has resulted in much speculation among scholars. The first major Roman poet to begin his career during the reign of Augustus, Ovid is today best known for the Metamorphoses, a 15-book continuous mythological narrative written in the meter of epic, and for works in elegiac couplets such as Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") and Fasti. His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology. -
L'art d'aimer d'Ovide, traduction en vers, avec des remarques par M. Desaintange (Chez Giguet et Michaud, Paris, 1807, first edition of translation) 5"x8", 320pp, full calf, gilt titles and decorations to spine, marbled boards, some rubbing and bumping, good+ condition for age, finely engraved frontispiece, unknown artist French language translation by Saint-Ange of Ovid's The Art of Love. Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – AD 17/18), known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists. He enjoyed enormous popularity, but, in one of the mysteries of literary history, was sent by Augustus into exile in a remote province on the Black Sea, where he remained until his death. Ovid himself attributes his exile to carmen et error, "a poem and a mistake", but his discretion in discussing the causes has resulted in much speculation among scholars. The first major Roman poet to begin his career during the reign of Augustus, Ovid is today best known for the Metamorphoses, a 15-book continuous mythological narrative written in the meter of epic, and for works in elegiac couplets such as Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") and Fasti. His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology. Ange-François Fariau de Saint-Ange (1747-1810), known as Saint-Ange was a French poet and translator. Born of a father adviser of the king, he studied at the collège des jésuites de Blois, then at the college Sainte-Barbe de Paris. He acquired from a young age a reputation for his his unparalleled wit. Protected by Turgot, he gained a place in general control, but found himself without resources in the Revolution. At the fall of Robespierre, he found a job in the clothing agency of the troops, then became then professor of belles-lettres, then of general and reasoned grammar, with the central school of the street Saint-Antoine. He was elected member of the French Academy in 1810. In his reception speech, sensing that his shaky health would not allow him to sit there for a long time, he declared: "I am doing violence, at this moment, to the continual suffering and intolerable who warn me that the shadow of the academician whom I replace is waiting for mine. Three months later, he suffered a fall and died while visiting the institute. -
Out of stock
The Sword and Womankind: being a study of the influence of "The Queen of Wepons" upon the moral and social status of women. Adapted from Ed. de Beauont's "L'Epée et les Femmes," with addtions and an index by Alfred Allinson, M.A. Oxon., and an etched frontispiece by Albert Bessé, [frontispiece actually by Paul Avril, engraved by E. Leon] (The Imperial Press [Charles Carrington], Essex Street, Strand, London, W.C., 1905, #487/1000) 5.75"x8.75", xx+410pp, 1/2 while vellum over marbled boards, gilt title and decorations on spine, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt others deckled, frontispiece features a rare Paul Avril print and NOT Albert Bessé, numerous notes written lightly in margins in pencil, ribbon present, near fine copy, owner's ex libris stamp is evident on a few pages Beaumont, with a characteristic French point of view, believes in a feminine interpretation of history - which is, that all important historic events are caused by women. But unlike most Frenchmen he believed that all such events are caused by naughty women. This is a history of those women, adapted from the original French. Sample chapters: In barbarous ages woman is a divinity - Frea, the Scandinavian Venus; Swordsmen become the agents of women's sexual excesses - public defiances concerning harlots; Debauchery during the crusades - chivalry modified by oriental passions; New ways of love and dalliance - interest in salacious art. History of consequences of gender and sex including degradation of women, concubines, chastity belts, prostitutes, debauchery during crusades, erotic literature, duelists, cavaliers, orgies, etc. The book repeatedly advises that it is privately printed for subscribers only which was a legal fiction designed to get around obscenity laws prohibiting the public sale of such books. Édouard-Henri Avril (1849-1928) used the pseudonym “Paul Avril” for his erotic work. He was a French painter and commercial artist. His career saw collaboration with influential people like Octave Uzanne, Henry Spencer Ashbee and Friedrich Karl Forberg. He is one of the most celebrated erotic artists of his age. Avril was a soldier before starting his career in art. He was awarded with the Legion of Honour for his actions in the Franco-Prussian War. -
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Dr. Julius Rosenbaum, trans. (from German) by "An Oxford M.A." (Charles Carrington, Paris, 1901) 9" X 5.5" 2 vol., xxxvi 297pp. (3 pages of ads), v. 342pp. Hardbound 1/2-bound in vellum over decorated boards, gilt lettering on spine, top edge gilt, other edges deckle. Marlbled endpapers. Very good condition, binding tight #84/500